Silvia Rivas and the representation of the indefinable

Interview and text by Luz Hitters

January 2021

Many thinkers have explored the concept of art as a means of communication throughout history. Umberto Eco, for example, analyses in his book Apocalyptic and Integrated that the recipient of a poetic message “finds himself in the situation of a cryptanalyst forced to decode a message from which he does not know the code, and therefore must deduce the code, not of knowledge preceding the message, if not the context of the message itself.”[1] Thus, art acts as an open discipline, where the viewer’s interpretation leads to the work’s meaning. By analysing art as a means of communication of which the viewer is the receiver, the artist fulfils the role of communicator. For the work to have a timeless impact, or to mobilise the audience profoundly, the artist must consider multiple aspects such as the medium, the context, and the presence of the recipient at the moment of receiving the expression. An artist who successfully achieves this result is Silvia Rivas (Buenos Aires, 1957), who consistently manages to represent that which transcends words; everything that cannot be defined. Her work varies in medium and theme and uses complex emotions as a starting point.

Trained in sculpture, the artist has always been interested in materiality. She maintains that although she does not formally specialise in the medium, her sensitivity lies in an intricate relationship to form and space.

SR: “I think of installations and shows as a script, where you go from one situation to another. Although there is a narrative in what I do, the narrative has to do with going through different accents of the perception that I seek. That it is the object for which I work. It is the meaning of being an artist.”

On many occasions, Rivas uses looped videos to capture a moment. In her latest series, Fuerza Diagonal (Diagonal Force), the artist explores a group dynamic that seems to converge, become a unit and, at the same time, fight for the available space. In a choreography, a paradoxically dependent physical struggle, her work invites us to reflect on what is imminent. The performers re-enact a kind of collapse, charged with sexuality and almost instinctive violence. The work plays with retaining and being retained, with the subordination and fatality of the group. The bodies create a human chain and at the same time a war. In this way, Rivas presents us with the human being’s complexity: fighting for available resources.

SR: “The dual nature of things is an axis in my work that I cannot avoid. I think it is a way of seeing the world: everything has its counterpart. Where life manifests, too, when it gets out of control, it is an agent of death. It is the same element, only subjected to different dynamics.”

Rivas uses art as a means to seek out and understand the intangible. Her work acts as visual poetry, as words that border an indeterminable concept. The ambivalence she mentions is inherent in this very nature. They are intimate works that propose a timeless conflict, a personal interrogation about existentialist mysteries. The artist starts from unclassifiable concepts, showing that many questions have open, individual and uncertain answers. 

SR: “I try to explore essential questions or associations that fit any human being in any circumstance. I achieve a synthesis trying to find a sensation: the perception of the moment and its duration. It has to do with the irreversible, with a break, with an event where all processes seem to stop and take on an identity. What interests me is to find a representation or a form for the perception of time. How do I convert the subjective perception of time into a single sensation? Or the relationship between the concept of time and its materialisation?”

Her work represents what is beyond being and emptiness, capturing the ‘in-betweens’ of existence, the temporal gap amidst past and present. In her series Momentum, Rivas tries to define and extend the moment prior to the point of no return, investigating concepts such as the constant loss of the present. Through various means, and using actions suspended in time as a starting point, the series captures inflexion in an attempt to control the ephemeral. Each of these installations are adapted to the exhibition’s context, incorporating materials such as scaffolding or a Carrara marble slab to emphasise the message. The objective is for the viewer to have a concrete experiential situation.

SR: “I investigate: it is trial and error. Going for one technique or the other has to do with looking for metaphors. For example, in the installations that I associated with porcelain, I was looking for that feeling of fragility and, at the same time, resistance. It had to be porcelain from a formal point of view. The woman who is taking the step steps forward on a beautiful surface, very resistant and at the same time very fragile. It is adamant, dangerous and at the same time is associated with the soft, the ideal. Momentum took place in the Immigrant Hotel. It represented the perception of the future that an immigrant could have at that place of suspension; in the face of a very uncertain future that was fantasised as precious but, that at the same time, could turn out to be the opposite—the perception of the present before that step from which there is no return. When I associate images with materiality, the material has to be connected poetically, or its qualities must serve as a metaphor for what I am saying as a sensation. “

In a previous interview, Rivas shares an anecdote that in my opinion, encapsulates her work: how she travelled, keying a stone that transferred the heaviness she felt in her chest, her anguish. This metaphor exposes the role of art for the artist: it is a sentimental abstraction tool where emotion is translated into an image.

Her action alludes to the Japanese Mono-ha movement, which focuses on relationships and perceptions of materials, beyond intervention. The rock specifically refers to the Relatum series by Lee Ufan, who contrasts industrial materials such as steel with natural elements such as rocks. Lee also uses nature as a metaphor for momentous questions. Like Rivas, he starts from almost monochromatic palettes and uses media that promotes reflection and appreciation of the chosen element’s nature. Thus, the artist uses materiality to induce meditation, inviting the viewer to contemplate time, character and the presence of what surrounds us.

SR: “To see or not to see, to listen or not to listen, space. My work is about travelling through space, being part of it, inhabiting it, closeness or distance. Space as a concept or as a passable place. Space as a place where things happen or something in which one is immersed. Defining space is like defining time. How much can we separate space from time?”

For Rivas, the role of the atmospheric is essential as it highlights what is beyond the gaze. This is evident in the graphics in Odisea Invisible (Invisible Odyssey), where she creates a visual representation of the swarms’ paths. By exposing sensory limitations, Rivas reflects on what we intuit but do not see.

On the other hand, in her series Zumbido (Buzzing), the artist examines the gap between action and reaction. Using the fly as a metaphor, she exposes the false sense of control over existence, demonstrating our actions’ transience. Through images, at times surreal, Zumbido captures the effort in vain behind permanence. The work exposes a situation of annoyance, something impossible to ignore but that at the same time contrasts with beauty and purity.

The fly is a recurring metaphor for the artist. In Sobre lo Inminente (On the Imminent) Rivas uses a white plate with milk, a white linen tablecloth, and a matching curtain. The fabrics move delicately, almost imperceptibly, in a kind of minimalist still life. In turn, this pristine scene is contrasted by a threatening sound: a buzzing sound. The work captures the proximity of danger during calm, the existence of an inevitable threat to serenity. Thus, she exposes the trap behind perception: it is the presence, or in fact absence of sound that defines reality for the viewer.

SR: “I’m interested in all art that throws me off a bit. I don’t want to understand everything. I don’t want everything to be explained easily to me. I want to stay in the intrigue that it produces in me, beyond that aesthetic pleasure and seduction are challenging to define.”

Her work reveals how interpretation resides in the viewer’s gaze. In Paisaje a Definir (Landscape to be Defined), Rivas uses a calm river and flower petals in an apparently serene scene, where freedom prevails. The red petals contrast with the monotony of the hazy horizon, moving through space freely, almost weightlessly. This scene is accompanied by gentle music. However, the chosen environment and the contrast of colours suggest a more complex reality, a veiled aggressiveness. In this way, the artist invites us to see beyond the gaze, to break down the multiple faces of the same truth.

SR: “It is a work that has to do with the Río de la Plata, an environment that I have very present. I am an artist from Buenos Aires, and the origin of Argentina has to do with that river, with the port, with what Buenos Aires meant. The port and the colony’s place gave us a development, an identity for better and worse. The river hides all these souls that were left there. Something as calm as a continuity of the plain, at the same time, conceals the violence of our history. “

In many cases, Rivas uses performance as a poetic device, thus allowing viewers to identify with the message in question. In most of her works, her subjects do not confront the public, but rather interact with each other. In this way, the viewer finds himself in a voyeurist dynamic, like an outsider observing from a distant perspective. By not confronting the viewer, the artist allows a deep inquisition to unfold, without intimidating or paralysing the beholder. This relationship with the public contributes to the open interpretation of the work, where each individual recognises himself in aspects of the scene represented.

SR: “The characters are like archetypes that do not challenge the viewer. I think it has to do with my shyness. It is a way of hiding because the performers finally represent the artist in some way. What I’m looking for is identification. You can empathise with that other in a scene you are watching. If that character is looking at you, another relationship occurs. It is another. And how do I identify with that other? You connect with that other through the gaze or the word, but the identification is different.“

Her work is not accidental. By thinking about it in terms of space, and taking into account the public, Rivas manages to take advantage of every available tool to convey a message. Through a fundamental ambiguity, her art communicates what words are unable to address. The requirement for the public is to enter into a calm contemplation: take time, disconnect from mania, and observe.

Rivas achieves successful communication as she is a freethinker. The independence from groups and the rejection of fixed codes allow her to create relatable works. The artist aims at a constant taxonomic reinvention, to recognise change and thus build bridges open to individual interpretation. In this way, she investigates the indefinite, without cataloguing or boxing. Finally, the art of Silvia Rivas is like a gentle but deafening eruption of emotions, a firm materialisation of all that is and all that will be; it is the knowledge and acceptance of our undefinable existence.

[1] Umberto Eco , “Estructura Del Mensaje Poetico,” in Apocalípticos e Integrados, Palabra En El Tiempo (Barcelona: Editorial Lumen, 1988), p. 101.